Portable alarm



Nov. 16, 1948.

Filed April 12, 1945 mNi Patented Nov. 16, 1948 UNITED STATES CE ORTALARM Application April-12, 1945, SerialNo. 587,875

,2 Claims. 1

The device of the presentinvention is an improvement on my previouspatents, No. 1,099,777, of June 9, 1914, and No. 1,377,939 of May 10,1921, onPortable burglar alarms. This invention accomplishes all theobjects of my prior patents by use of a much simpler mechanism,employing fewer parts and eliminating the necessity of securing oranchoring part of the mechanism.

The invention also contemplates an alarm which is more positive inoperation and may be adjusted to conform to variations in door and doorframe constructions.

Other objects of the invention will be manifest from'the followingdescription of the present preferred form of the invention, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a front elevational view of an alarm constructed inaccordance with the present invention illustrating its application;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the same;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of theadjustable door jamb engagingplate and detent;

and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary topplan View of a modified form of theinvention showing the free end of the reversible lever in spacedrelation to its contact plate,

In order to illustrate the application of the invention, a door jamb orframe 5 is shown, in which a door 6 is mounted in a manner well known inthe art.

The device of my invention consists of a self contained portable unit,capable of application to any movable or fixed object. When used as aburglar alarm, the unit is mounted upon the door, operation beingeffected upon opening the door. The unit embodies a panel I which isequipped with a pair of supporting plates 8, each of the plates havingan eye adapted for the reception of a screw 9. The screws may be engagedin the door as illustrated in the drawing. The panel carries on itsfront face, an audible signal, generally designated [0, which, in thisinstance, is shown to be an electric bell, the clapper ll of which isoperated by electro-magnets l2. The electro-magnets are in circuit, asindicated at [3, with batteries M which are detachably mounted in acylindrical case, IS. The bottom of the case is equipped with aremovable cap 16 which carries a spring I! that normally urges thebatteries upwardly in the case l5 to engage a contact I8 detachablymounted on the panel.

The bell circuit is closed in the present embodiment of the invention bythe opening of the door. The specific means used in the present instancefor performing this function, includes a reversible inherently resilientlever it, one end of which is spaced from and'pivotally engaged to thepanel, bein secured from displacement by a wing nut 21! threaded ona.complemental shaft 20', as illustrated to advantage in Figure '2. Theopposite end of the lever extends beyond one side of thcpanel :1 and isbent at-righ't angles as-indicated at 2|. The rightangle extension 2icarries a bifurcated plate-22, the branches of the bifurcationstraddling a threaded shank 23 which-extends outwardly from the rightangled portionii of the reversible lever and is engaged with a hum nu hedo r jamb engagin d o the-plate 22 carriesa pivotally mounted spacer 25which is adapted to engage the door jamb when the device of theipresentinventionis used as a burglar alarm.

Contact strips 25 are mounted on the outer face of the panel"! at theupper end of the latter, 1 9th ft tri s be ng in l t a omm cation, asillustrated in thedrawing, with the contact I8 The lever [B is adaptedto be positioned over either of the strips .26 to close the circuit andsound the alarm. The lever I9 is normally he i 1 a ion t t und r in s rby an adjusting screw 21. The screw is hand operated and may be urged,in an obvious manner, into engagement with the panel I. By use of thescrew 21, adjustment of the reversible lever I!) may be made to retainthe lever spaced from its subjacent strip 26.

The device is used as a burgler alarm in the following manner: The screw21 is adjusted to hold the lever l9 out of contact with the strip 26 andthe panel 1 is secured to an open door 6. The pivoted spacer 25 is thenmanually maintained in its extended position (shown by dotted lines inFigure 3) as the door 6 is moved to its closed position. The spacer 25then engages the door frame 5 and the lever I9 is held in spacedrelationship with the contact 26. The screw 21 is next unscrewed so thatit cannot prevent the lever [9 from moving into contact with strip 26when the door is opened by a prowler. The device is now set.

When the door 6 is opened, the lever I9 springs into contact with thestrip 26 and the alarm is sounded. The moment the pivoted spacer 25leaves the door frame 5, the spacer swings downwardly to the positionshown in Figure 3. Then, if the unauthorized person opening the doorquickly shuts the door upon hearing the alarm, his closing of the doorwill not shut off the alarm because after the spacer 25 has droppeddown,

the lever l9 remains in contact with the strip 26 even though the dooris closed. By this construction, the occupant of the room is fullyaroused and warned of the attempted entrance. The occupant himself mustturn off the alarm by urging screw 21 against the panel 1. He can theninstigate an investigation of the premises.

In the event the device is to be used as an ordinary doorbell, thedetent 25 is not set. By bifurcating the plate 22, the latter may beadjusted so as to conform to variations in door and door jambconstructions and contours. When the device is to be renderedinoperative, the screw 21 is urged against the panel so as to feed theoperating end of the reversible lever outwardly; or if desired, thelever may be swun on its axis so as to place the operative end thereofat a point above the panel. By providing strips 26 at opposite sides ofthe panel '1, the alarm may be used with a door opening from either sideof the door jamb.

Should it be desired to use the present invention as a fire alarm, thepanel 1 is secured to a fixed object in a room and a cable 28 engagedwith the free end of the lever l9. The cable is drawn taut to pull thelever away from the contact strip 26. The cable may be made of fusibleor ignitible material to break when exposed to a flame or when subjectedto predetermined temperatures.

Any failure of the cable 28 results in sounding the alarm. This includesbreakage of the cable such as by contact of a part of the body of anintruder therewith.

While I have herein described a preferred embodiment of this invention,it is to be understood that various changes may be made therein withinthe scope of the claims hereto appended.

What I claim is:

1. In a portable self-contained alarm of the type including a mountingpanel adapted to be secured to a closure, a circuit maker and breakerembodying a pair of relatively spaced contacts fixedly secured to thepanel, a resilient contact strip pivoted to the panel and movable aboutits pivot into a position overlying a selected one of the fixed contactsand extending beyond the edge ofthe closure, and a spacer pivotallymounted on the extended end of said resilient contact strip, the pivotedspacer having a set position extending from the resilient contact stripand into engagement with the closure frame when the closure is closed,the spacer being automatically pivotable, when the closure is opened, toa free position wherein it does not engage the closure frame when theclosure is subsequently closed.

2. In a portable self-contained alarm of the type including a mountingpanel adapted to be secured to a closure, a circuit maker and breakerembodying a contact fixedly secured to the panel, a resilient contactstrip secured at one end to the panel, the other end overlying the fixedcontact and extending beyond the edge of the closure, and a spacerpivotally mounted on the extended end of said resilient contact strip,the pivoted spacer having a set position extending from the resilientcontact strip and into engagement with the closure frame When theclosure isclosed, the spacer being automatically pivotable, when theclosure is opened, to a free position wherein it does not engage theclosure frame when the closure is subsequently closed.

SAMUEL SUNDEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 723,478 Mills Mar. 24, 1903828,834 Bell Aug. 14, 1906 842,407 Mamy Jan. 29, 1907 1,009,285 CrowleyNov. 21, 1911 1,012,590 Bobo Dec. 26, 1911 1,115,830 Jones, Jr. Nov. 3,1914 1,156,809 Pidgeon Oct. 12, 1915 1,204,513 Smith Nov. 14, 19161,377,939 Sundel May 1 0, 1921 1,595,520 Larson Aug. 10, 926 1,784,479Bellman Dec. 9, 1930 2,193,690 Johnson Mar. 12, 1940

